An Advaita forum focusing on Realisation, enlightenment, non-duality, Real Love, peace, freedom, Your original nature, abiding naturally, the Oneness, the Noneness, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Now available on DVD or downloadable computer file:
seven hours of satsang with floyd guiding seekers through all seven steps (in their exact order) to Realization. See details at the end of this post.
seven hours of satsang with floyd guiding seekers through all seven steps (in their exact order) to Realization. See details at the end of this post.
That which is known by many forms the body of “conventional wisdom” (which is actually nothing more than learned ignorance). That which is knowable by all (but known by only a few) is the only true wisdom.
F.: E-mails like this are arriving in volume: Do you know an Advaita Vedanta teacher in the San Francisco area you can recommend?
Teacher recommendations are not offered here, and the sites that make such specific recommendations by name are evidencing egotism at play; however, pointers that can be used to eliminate some prospects and that can leave some teachers in consideration are offered on occasion. This series has been moved in that direction. So...
(A) begin by asking a prospective teacher this: "Do you know how THAT came to be thought of as 'this,' and can you teach me the exact reverse steps from 'this' to THAT?" and (B) understand that pointers to Truth trigger a resonance within, but such resonance is not to be confused with short-term emotional intoxication.
Now to possibly facilitate your search, the following considerations are offered. First, easier to count every grain of sand on the planet’s beaches than to tally the number of those who falsely claim this wisdom. Yet many of them cannot even solve the simple riddle of Amness, such as Christians who find “When you speak of me, speak of me as I AM” and “Before Abraham was, I AM” to be enigmatic though such statements are easily understood by Advaitins. So how to eliminate the unqualified from your consideration?
By virtue of the fact that those teachers (preachers, priests, pastors) and their two billion followers haven’t the slightest clue in regards to the meaning of Advaitin pointers written in their so-called “holy” text or in regards to the meaning of words supposedly spoken by the one they worship, the search for a true teacher of wisdom is narrowed because two billion can be eliminated from consideration by virtue of such ignorance of their own teachings. [Dan Brown says that, historically, “They defended their worldly desires by citing Scriptures they did not understand.”]
Next, consider that 1.5 billion Muslims cannot agree on (a) whether “the rightly-guided one” has come or is yet to come; or on (b) who is rightly in the lineage of leadership and who is not; or on (c) whose sect should be believed and whose sect should not be believed. Should it not then be clear that persons caught up in such confusion as that cannot possibly be the carriers of confusion-eliminating wisdom?
Thus, of the six-and-a-half billion religious / spiritual persons you might be tempted to listen to on your “journey,” those two simple realizations above have already reduced the potential candidates for your attention by half.
Similar investigation of all organized systems that would (1) tell people what to believe and what not to believe—often with penalty of death for not believing the “right” beliefs—and organized systems that have (2) conflicting teachings within their own systems cannot possibly be the bearers of truth, cannot possibly eliminate confusion, and cannot possibly provide you with pointers to Truth.
Next, consider: as the case for finding out what Real Love is begins with finding out what love is not; and as the case for finding out Who / What You Are begins with finding all that You are not, so too the search for finding a true teacher begins with identifying and eliminating all the teachers that cannot possibly be true teachers. For those who wrote of the challenge of finding a true teacher, your task has already been incredibly simplified, has it not?
To simplify even more, consider: among those attached to the “conventional wisdom” (or those selling or buying into the non-conventional but non-true “wisdom”), there are many beliefs being bandied about in regards to what is required for peace or for Realization or for salvation or for treatment of whatever ails you mentally or emotionally or “spiritually.” To further reduce the size of the field in which you are searching for a true teacher, understand:
1. If there were a need for you to eat something special in order to Realize, or if certain foods could block you from Realization, then there would be directives offered here regarding what seekers must—and must not—eat. Seek not among those preoccupied with anything dealing with “the objective world” if You would understand the non-objective. [Many missed the opportunity to receive what Maharaj offered because they judged some in his family for eating meat and thus shunned the Master as a result. Eat and let eat.]
2. If it were required that you only read what someone says is “holy” writing, then you would be directed to one or more of the books that religions and philosophies and others call “holy.” Seek not among those steeped in duality who speak of books that are different from, or more special than, other books.
3. If there were a requirement for you to ring bells or smell smoke or strike bowls or sit on special rugs in special garbs or special robes, or if there were a need to hum or sing or knell or chant, then all of that would be prescribed. It is not necessary. Seek not among those who focus on what one is clothed in but who do not understand that That Which You Are is presently clothed in a plant food body. Seek not the odorless and tasteless Manifest Unseen among those that want you to smell and taste and see their ritualistic accoutrements which are of the objective world.
4. If it were required for you to donate 10% of all of the money you earn in order to attain whatever it is that billions are seeking (and have been convinced that whatever that is can be bought), you would be invited to allow the accountant here to set you up with a monthly billing plan. Seek not among those who require regular contributions and demand an on-going "relationship" for an entire lifetime.
5. If there were a requirement for you to be naked in order to hear what must be heard to remove the scars of trauma and programming and conditioning, it would be suggested that you join one of the self-help, self-improvement groups which incorporate nudity into their programs. Seek not among those who suggest that your clothing is a part of what is blocking Your ability to understand what is to be understood or to be free.
6. If you had to “love what is,” as some teachers claim, then you would not be told that Real Love has no object but simply IS. Seek not from those who claim to share non-duality truths while advancing dualistic concepts.
7. If you had to believe that “it’s all good” and had to believe that “you must accept everything in order to be at peace,” then the site would be converted so that it could cater to “spin doctors” and self-deceivers. Expect not to hear the truth from those with distorted perceptions and who are deceivers of self or others.
8. If one would be truly free—that is, totally independent—there is also no need for dependencies on daily meetings or on groups or on god(s) or a need to “keep going back.” Once the understanding is understood, wherefore any further need for being taught? (Could the continuing attachment actually be an ego-based need to assume the role of “The Knower” or “The Sharer of Knowledge” or "The Rescuer" or "The Savior" or "The Good Helper"?) Maharaj sent seekers away for quiet contemplation once the teachings had been offered or for further preparation if the readiness was not there.
9. Next, allow the internal detector to made a non-prejudicial but astute assessment and eliminate from consideration those teachers with dull faculties. If the capacity to differentiate between the dull and the bright teacher is not present, then neither is the readiness. [Let the noisy:quiet ratio be a signal regarding a teacher’s level of trueness. Again, Dan Brown, referring to religious leaders and devotees over the centuries and nowadays as well, noted that “…the ignorant have always screamed the loudest, herding the unsuspecting masses and forcing them to do their bidding.”]
10. Finally, you may be seeing by now that those who are drawing huge crowds by appealing to the masses are not sharing the wisdom of the ancient understanding but—by virtue of the fact that the masses are finding their teachings attractive—are really sharing nothing more than their own specialized versions of “conventional wisdom” (that is, learned ignorance).
What a narrow list you now have to draw from! Are you seeing why your searching in so many places with so many “teachers” and in so many books and in so many other venues have all proved fruitless? How much easier your task of finding a true teacher should now be, knowing that none of the types of teachers above, and none of their activities, are required for Full Realization to happen.
(Here, to the contrary, all of their ideas and beliefs and systems and dogma and seminar content and bestseller subject matter had to be discarded in order for Full Realization to happen.)
So if a handful of Advaitins are offering teachings that run contrary to the “conventional wisdom” (a.k.a., widely-accepted learned ignorance) then why can they not be considered contrarians? That tomorrow. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
Teacher recommendations are not offered here, and the sites that make such specific recommendations by name are evidencing egotism at play; however, pointers that can be used to eliminate some prospects and that can leave some teachers in consideration are offered on occasion. This series has been moved in that direction. So...
(A) begin by asking a prospective teacher this: "Do you know how THAT came to be thought of as 'this,' and can you teach me the exact reverse steps from 'this' to THAT?" and (B) understand that pointers to Truth trigger a resonance within, but such resonance is not to be confused with short-term emotional intoxication.
Now to possibly facilitate your search, the following considerations are offered. First, easier to count every grain of sand on the planet’s beaches than to tally the number of those who falsely claim this wisdom. Yet many of them cannot even solve the simple riddle of Amness, such as Christians who find “When you speak of me, speak of me as I AM” and “Before Abraham was, I AM” to be enigmatic though such statements are easily understood by Advaitins. So how to eliminate the unqualified from your consideration?
By virtue of the fact that those teachers (preachers, priests, pastors) and their two billion followers haven’t the slightest clue in regards to the meaning of Advaitin pointers written in their so-called “holy” text or in regards to the meaning of words supposedly spoken by the one they worship, the search for a true teacher of wisdom is narrowed because two billion can be eliminated from consideration by virtue of such ignorance of their own teachings. [Dan Brown says that, historically, “They defended their worldly desires by citing Scriptures they did not understand.”]
Next, consider that 1.5 billion Muslims cannot agree on (a) whether “the rightly-guided one” has come or is yet to come; or on (b) who is rightly in the lineage of leadership and who is not; or on (c) whose sect should be believed and whose sect should not be believed. Should it not then be clear that persons caught up in such confusion as that cannot possibly be the carriers of confusion-eliminating wisdom?
Thus, of the six-and-a-half billion religious / spiritual persons you might be tempted to listen to on your “journey,” those two simple realizations above have already reduced the potential candidates for your attention by half.
Similar investigation of all organized systems that would (1) tell people what to believe and what not to believe—often with penalty of death for not believing the “right” beliefs—and organized systems that have (2) conflicting teachings within their own systems cannot possibly be the bearers of truth, cannot possibly eliminate confusion, and cannot possibly provide you with pointers to Truth.
Next, consider: as the case for finding out what Real Love is begins with finding out what love is not; and as the case for finding out Who / What You Are begins with finding all that You are not, so too the search for finding a true teacher begins with identifying and eliminating all the teachers that cannot possibly be true teachers. For those who wrote of the challenge of finding a true teacher, your task has already been incredibly simplified, has it not?
To simplify even more, consider: among those attached to the “conventional wisdom” (or those selling or buying into the non-conventional but non-true “wisdom”), there are many beliefs being bandied about in regards to what is required for peace or for Realization or for salvation or for treatment of whatever ails you mentally or emotionally or “spiritually.” To further reduce the size of the field in which you are searching for a true teacher, understand:
1. If there were a need for you to eat something special in order to Realize, or if certain foods could block you from Realization, then there would be directives offered here regarding what seekers must—and must not—eat. Seek not among those preoccupied with anything dealing with “the objective world” if You would understand the non-objective. [Many missed the opportunity to receive what Maharaj offered because they judged some in his family for eating meat and thus shunned the Master as a result. Eat and let eat.]
2. If it were required that you only read what someone says is “holy” writing, then you would be directed to one or more of the books that religions and philosophies and others call “holy.” Seek not among those steeped in duality who speak of books that are different from, or more special than, other books.
3. If there were a requirement for you to ring bells or smell smoke or strike bowls or sit on special rugs in special garbs or special robes, or if there were a need to hum or sing or knell or chant, then all of that would be prescribed. It is not necessary. Seek not among those who focus on what one is clothed in but who do not understand that That Which You Are is presently clothed in a plant food body. Seek not the odorless and tasteless Manifest Unseen among those that want you to smell and taste and see their ritualistic accoutrements which are of the objective world.
4. If it were required for you to donate 10% of all of the money you earn in order to attain whatever it is that billions are seeking (and have been convinced that whatever that is can be bought), you would be invited to allow the accountant here to set you up with a monthly billing plan. Seek not among those who require regular contributions and demand an on-going "relationship" for an entire lifetime.
5. If there were a requirement for you to be naked in order to hear what must be heard to remove the scars of trauma and programming and conditioning, it would be suggested that you join one of the self-help, self-improvement groups which incorporate nudity into their programs. Seek not among those who suggest that your clothing is a part of what is blocking Your ability to understand what is to be understood or to be free.
6. If you had to “love what is,” as some teachers claim, then you would not be told that Real Love has no object but simply IS. Seek not from those who claim to share non-duality truths while advancing dualistic concepts.
7. If you had to believe that “it’s all good” and had to believe that “you must accept everything in order to be at peace,” then the site would be converted so that it could cater to “spin doctors” and self-deceivers. Expect not to hear the truth from those with distorted perceptions and who are deceivers of self or others.
8. If one would be truly free—that is, totally independent—there is also no need for dependencies on daily meetings or on groups or on god(s) or a need to “keep going back.” Once the understanding is understood, wherefore any further need for being taught? (Could the continuing attachment actually be an ego-based need to assume the role of “The Knower” or “The Sharer of Knowledge” or "The Rescuer" or "The Savior" or "The Good Helper"?) Maharaj sent seekers away for quiet contemplation once the teachings had been offered or for further preparation if the readiness was not there.
9. Next, allow the internal detector to made a non-prejudicial but astute assessment and eliminate from consideration those teachers with dull faculties. If the capacity to differentiate between the dull and the bright teacher is not present, then neither is the readiness. [Let the noisy:quiet ratio be a signal regarding a teacher’s level of trueness. Again, Dan Brown, referring to religious leaders and devotees over the centuries and nowadays as well, noted that “…the ignorant have always screamed the loudest, herding the unsuspecting masses and forcing them to do their bidding.”]
10. Finally, you may be seeing by now that those who are drawing huge crowds by appealing to the masses are not sharing the wisdom of the ancient understanding but—by virtue of the fact that the masses are finding their teachings attractive—are really sharing nothing more than their own specialized versions of “conventional wisdom” (that is, learned ignorance).
What a narrow list you now have to draw from! Are you seeing why your searching in so many places with so many “teachers” and in so many books and in so many other venues have all proved fruitless? How much easier your task of finding a true teacher should now be, knowing that none of the types of teachers above, and none of their activities, are required for Full Realization to happen.
(Here, to the contrary, all of their ideas and beliefs and systems and dogma and seminar content and bestseller subject matter had to be discarded in order for Full Realization to happen.)
So if a handful of Advaitins are offering teachings that run contrary to the “conventional wisdom” (a.k.a., widely-accepted learned ignorance) then why can they not be considered contrarians? That tomorrow. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
SIX WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk Video (DVD) Set, or the same retreat available as a downloadable file. Either will provide an entire seven-hour retreat / series of satsang sessions showing three seekers being guided through all seven steps by Floyd and can provide viewers with an “experiential,” step-by-step series of satsang meetings that will move the viewers from identification with the I to abidance as the Absolute and then to abidance as That Which Is beyond
Some seekers are already using the computer file version and the DVD sets for meetings in groups in homes, playing the retreat, pausing for discussion, etc.
To find out more or to purchase the DVD set or the downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
Option “A” is for the downloadable file version, Option “B” is used to order the DVD set for delivery inside the U.S., Option “C” for international orders.
For the download, Paypal will send me a notice that payment has been received and then I will send by e-mail the downloading instruction, password, etc.
[It is recommended that you watch the video with pen and paper in hand. Write whatever you need clarified. You'll see that there are constant reviews and you might find an answer later in the seven-hour presentation. Then, after you watch it all, there will be a common ground for discussion. Purchase of the DVD’s or the file will include the right to clarifications and answers to your specific questions via e-mail.]
2. BY READING these books in this exact order:
IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)
SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)
[Those two prepare the seeker to question it all]
THE MEDITATION GUIDES
[Provide a broad overview of the understanding]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
[Begins to free the seeker of body identification and the desire for body continuity]
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace if You're Out of Your Mind)
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of the false content of the “mind”]
LIBERATION
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of personas]
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS
[Provides the final preparation for the seeker to be directed along the “path”]
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
[Directs the seeker along the “path”]
CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute)
[Allows the seeker to understand the functioning of the totality, the manifestation, and what is involved with the un-manifestation]
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
[Provides the seeker the wisdom to understand the Noneness as well as the Oneness]
Purchase an e-Book now and begin reading it in minutes (except with e-checks that can take 7-10 days). Trusting our clients as we do, all e-Books are provided to you in printable form.
SAVE IF YOU BUY ALL ELEVEN AT ONCE:
(You may order the books one at a time or you may use the following link to acquire the entire 11-e-Book set on sale for $99 if ordered at one time with the “Buy Now” button below. For this option, there will be no download links provided; once the near-instant notice of payment is received from PayPal, your e-Books will be sent to you as e-mail attachments. All are printable for your convenience.)
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk Video (DVD) Set, or the same retreat available as a downloadable file. Either will provide an entire seven-hour retreat / series of satsang sessions showing three seekers being guided through all seven steps by Floyd and can provide viewers with an “experiential,” step-by-step series of satsang meetings that will move the viewers from identification with the I to abidance as the Absolute and then to abidance as That Which Is beyond
Some seekers are already using the computer file version and the DVD sets for meetings in groups in homes, playing the retreat, pausing for discussion, etc.
To find out more or to purchase the DVD set or the downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
Option “A” is for the downloadable file version, Option “B” is used to order the DVD set for delivery inside the U.S., Option “C” for international orders.
For the download, Paypal will send me a notice that payment has been received and then I will send by e-mail the downloading instruction, password, etc.
[It is recommended that you watch the video with pen and paper in hand. Write whatever you need clarified. You'll see that there are constant reviews and you might find an answer later in the seven-hour presentation. Then, after you watch it all, there will be a common ground for discussion. Purchase of the DVD’s or the file will include the right to clarifications and answers to your specific questions via e-mail.]
2. BY READING these books in this exact order:
IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)
SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)
[Those two prepare the seeker to question it all]
THE MEDITATION GUIDES
[Provide a broad overview of the understanding]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
[Begins to free the seeker of body identification and the desire for body continuity]
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace if You're Out of Your Mind)
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of the false content of the “mind”]
LIBERATION
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of personas]
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS
[Provides the final preparation for the seeker to be directed along the “path”]
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
[Directs the seeker along the “path”]
CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute)
[Allows the seeker to understand the functioning of the totality, the manifestation, and what is involved with the un-manifestation]
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
[Provides the seeker the wisdom to understand the Noneness as well as the Oneness]
Purchase an e-Book now and begin reading it in minutes (except with e-checks that can take 7-10 days). Trusting our clients as we do, all e-Books are provided to you in printable form.
SAVE IF YOU BUY ALL ELEVEN AT ONCE:
(You may order the books one at a time or you may use the following link to acquire the entire 11-e-Book set on sale for $99 if ordered at one time with the “Buy Now” button below. For this option, there will be no download links provided; once the near-instant notice of payment is received from PayPal, your e-Books will be sent to you as e-mail attachments. All are printable for your convenience.)
You may visit The Official Website of Floyd Henderson for information on each book.
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course
4. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat for satsang with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
5. BY ARRANGING satsang by telephone in the U.S. or by Skype internationally:
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link above to discuss details.
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course
4. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat for satsang with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
5. BY ARRANGING satsang by telephone in the U.S. or by Skype internationally:
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link above to discuss details.
